Royal and Indian Ancestry

One of the pitfalls of genealogy is that it involves human error. People are unfortunately picky and choosy about who they care to be related to. As a result of this, it is common for Anglo-Saxon genealogies in America to claim descent from royalty or from Native Americans. Most of these claims are unsubstantiated and unproven. I have come across at least 12 lines in my ancestry that researchers have claimed to be descended from royalty. Only one of these lines (Reade line, below) is proven to descend from royalty. The others claims range from absurd to highly likely.

My ancestral lines also claim four possible Native American ancestries and one Moroccan one, all of which are unproven.

Proven Royal Ancestry: Reade Line
This line is so far the only royal connection in my family tree that has been proven. Unlike nearly all of our other immigrant ancestors, George Reade was a wealthy man of influence when he immigrated to the English colonies. His descent from Edward III is well documented.

Highly likely Royal Ancestry: Keene Line
This connection is not provable because of the below disclaimer concerning the identity of Thomas Keene. Despite this, I still believe that the connection is valid but it would be irresponsible to accept it as fact.

Edward I, King of England (1239-1307) married Eleanor of Castille

-their daughter, Elizabeth of England (1282-1316) married Humphrey De Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex

--their son, William De Bohun, Earl of Northampton (c. 1312-1360) married Elizabeth Badlesmere

* There is no evidence that Thomas Keene of Virginia was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Gosnold) Keene of England. We do know that Thomas and Elizabeth Keene had a son named Thomas of the right age to be our Thomas of Virginia. We also know that they had some nephews who moved to Virginia in the same time period. Other than this circumstantial evidence, no known source proves the connection.

Possible Royal Ancestry: Manning Line

This ancestral line has been traced with certainty back to England. The problem in this line lies with the identity of Hugh Manning's wife. Although she has been identified in previous sources as the daughter of William Brandon, this connection apparently is not corroborated in any contemporary sources, when it should have been.

Edward I, King of England (1239-1307) married Eleanor of Castile

-their daughter, Elizabeth of England (1282-1316) married Humphrey De Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex

--their son, William De Bohun, Earl of Northampton (c. 1312-1360) married Elizabeth Badlesmere

* One source indicates that Hugh Manning married a daughter of William Brandon. Different researchers have listed her name as Margaret, Eleanor and Elizabeth, yet the daughters of those names were listed as marrying different people. The greatest likelihood is that if she really was William's daughter, that she was the "younger" Margaret (he had two daughters named Margaret).

Possible Royal Ancestry: Bradbury Line
I believe that this is a relatively sound, proven line, but cannot vouch for accuracy.

John King of England (1167-1216) had a relationship with Adele de Warenne

Possible Royal Ancestry: Blount Line
This line is relatively well accepted and there is little reason to doubt it. Some of the earliest connections in this line may be questionable. Additionally, there is no proof that William Ballard's wife Grace was the daughter of Thomas and Ann Berwick. The connection is so circumstantially likely though, that most researchers have accepted it as fact.

John King of England (1167-1216) has a relationship with Adele De Warenne

The following line of descent is not proven, but has been accepted by many researchers. The ancestry of John Whitney (1592-1673) past his parents is sketchy and unproven(see disclaimers below). These doubts considered, it is unlikely that this line existed as I have outlined. Despite this, it is still likely that John Whitney hailed in some way from the same old family referenced below. See the Whitney Research Group Web site.

Edward III, King of England (1312-1377) married Philippa of Hainault

-their son, Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (1341-1402) married Isabel of Castille

--their daughter, Constance of York (c. 1374-1416) married Edmund De Holland

---their daughter, Eleanor De Holland, (c. 1405-???) married James Tuchet

----*1 their daughter, Constance Tuchet, (c. 1443-???) married Robert Whitney

*1 not clear if Robert Whitney’s children were by Constance Tuchet or his other wife Elizabeth Vaughn*2 no proof he was James and Blanche's son*3 no proof he was Robert and Elizabeth's son

Questionable or Disproven Royal Lines:

David Halliburton (c. 1727-1767)
One researcher e-mailed me to inform me (with a lot of conviction) that David Halliburton was sent to America in about 1746 because he was next in line to inherit the Scottish/English throne. I still have not been able to determine where this person came up with that idea, but it is impossible and absurd. Of course, legends like that can have some basis in truth, as the Halliburtons probably did descend from minor Scottish nobility, in which case David may have been very distantly related to Scottish royalty. I have not though heard any version of this story from any other researcher, so it should be taken with even less than a grain of salt.

Leah (Morgan) Scholl (c. 1730-1790's)
Leah was the maternal grandmother of Arnold Custer. The claim that Leah is descended from royalty relies on two separate assumptions. First, one must accept that she was the daughter or granddaughter of James and Elizabeth Morgan, who were early pioneers of Pennsylvania and relatives by marriage to Daniel Boone. (In reality, no proof of any kind of suggests who Leah's parents might have been). Second, one must accept that James Morgan of Pennsylvania was a descendant of Welsh nobility (with connections to even earlier English royalty).

Gertrude (Doors) Custer (c. 1645-1707)
Gertrude has sometimes been listed as a descendant of royalty. This assertion relies though on two unproven (and almost absurd) assumptions. First, the theory suggests that Gertrude's mother Agnes (Neesgen) was the daughter of Herman Op Den Graeff of Krefeld, Germany. (In reality, no proof of Agnes' parentage has ever been found and there is no reason to believe she was connected to the Op Den Graeffs.) Second, a theory suggests that Herman Op Den Graeff was the illegitimate son of John William De La Marck, Count of Altena and Duke of Cleves (who was the grandson of Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor, and the great-great-grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella and Spain). Unfortunately, this second assertion is misguided and highly unlikely.

Edmund Rice (c. 1594-1663)
I believe that this theory has since been completely disproven but I will put it here anyway. As far as I know, there is not definite proof as to Edmund's parentage. Some sources indicate that he had an ancestor named Catherine Howard, a member of the noble Howard family, which was in direct descent from King Edward I of England.

Elizabeth (Stewart) Southerton (c. 1527-1547)
Elizabeth Stewart's identity has often been called in question. Genealogy sources list two different scenarios for her parentage. One source indicates that she was the illegitimate daughter of James Stewart Earl of Moray who was in turn the illegitimate son of James IV King of Scotland. The Earl of Moray did have a daughter named Elizabeth who married a distant cousin, John Stewart, and they were divorced in 1546. It is possible that she could have remarried to Thomas Southerton, a commoner, since she was illegitimate and a divorcee she would probably have had to marry beneath her. In reality though, she was the daughter daughter of Augustine Steward, the Mayor of Norwich.

Indian and "non-white" Blood:

Jane (---) Flanders (c. 1622-1683)
Jane lived in what is now Maine and Massachusetts and there are no records or clues to her family origins before her marriage to Steven Flanders in about 1645. Although most researchers seem to discount the possibility that she was an Indian, I will post the idea here anyway. Some questionable sources indicate that Jane's surname was Sandusky and that she was a Christianized member of the Sandusky Indian Tribe. Unfortunately, this theory relies on no proof that anybody has been able to find. Aside from this, there were no Sandusky Indians in Maine or Massachusetts (the "Sanduskys" lived in Ohio) and there is no reference to Jane being an Indian in contemporary records. Jane actually had good command of the English language, but there is frequent record of her getting in trouble with town authorities for her "tongue." One theory is that Jane may have actually been of French origin and Sandusky may be a butchered rendition of some French surname.

Suster (Bouts) Viele (c. 1650-aft. 1700)
Suster lived at Schenectady, New York. Sources have often indicated that Suster was a member of the Mohawk tribe. Much of this assumption probably lies with the fact that her husband, Cornelis Viele, was an Indian interpreter and trader and was apparently on friendly terms with the Mohawk people. However some sources seem to confirm that Suster was actually the daughter of Dutchman named Hendrick Lambertse Bout. There is still no definitive proof that Hendrick was Suster's father, but even if he was there is still the possibility that her mother or maybe a grandparent was a Mohawk. The Bout family has not been studied enough to rule out the possibility. Much of this theory also includes her given name was "Suster." Apparently the name meant "sister" and was not used by any other Dutch-American family.

Mary (---) Cornwell (c. 1620-aft. 1678)
Mary was married to William Cornwell in about 1639. They lived in Middletown, Connecticut, and had 8 children: John, William, Samuel, Jacob, Sarah, Thomas, Esther and Elizabeth Cornwell. There are unsubstantiated stories which indicate that Mary may have been Mary "Hyanno", an Indian "Princess" from the area of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Apparently, there is no proof of this, but there is circumstancial evidence which points to the connection being possible. Aside from this, Mary Hyanno is claimed by others to have been the wife of Austin Bearce. Other sources suggest that Mary, wife of William Cornwell may have actually been Mary Bailey, daughter of John and Lydia Bailey.

Some Martin family descendants claim that it is part of their family history that Frances Martin Roberts Miller (and thus her twin sister, Josephine Martin Plymale) was either full Indian or had Indian blood. Unfortunately, no proof or corroboration of this theory exists. Photographs of family members (including her twin sister and their father) exist which show white people with possible non-Caucasian facial attributes. All of the Martins (and connected Browns and Crobargers) indicated in records that they were White. Also, their father Col. William J. Martin was a racist man who owned slaves and fought against Indians in three different wars. Of course this does not really prove anything. The Martin family's classification as white and their apparent hatred of Indians may simply have been a result of their resentment of their own scant Indian blood. If this connection is true, an Indian may have been the as of yet unknown wife of Zaddock Martin Sr. whom he probably married in North Carolina in the 1770's. An Indian could also have been the ancestor of Susannah Brown or of Harriet Crobarger. There is hardly anything known about the ancestry of these people.

After taking DNA tests through multiple companies, this theory seems even more plausible. More specifically, the implication is that these ancestors were Cherokee and were somehow in the ancestry of Harriet Crobarger Martin (1817-1884).

Anthony Jansen Van Salee, (c. 1607-1676)
Anthony settled in New Amsterdam in the 1630's. He is acknowledged as being raised in Morocco. After moving to New York, he was usually known as a "Turk" or other terms implying that he was of mixed ethnic or African origin. The prevalent theory is that his father was Dutch and his mother was probably a Moor (Muslims of North African descent). It is apparent that Anthony was one of the first Muslims to settle in the New World, although he probably converted to Christianity. It is not known if he is an ancestor of this line. Jannetje, wife of Jacques Barkelow, may have been his great-great-granddaughter.